UNION TOWNSHIP -- A 20-year-old Newark man, identified as the main suspect in last week’s murder of a Union Township deli manager, surrendered to authorities this week.

Daivon K. Brinson has been charged with the Nov. 30 stabbing death of Mohinder Singh, who worked at the Three Stooges Supermarket on Springfield Avenue. Brinson turned himself in to homicide detectives at the Union County Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday, two days after they publicly released his identity.

Brinson was arrested and taken to a local hospital for injuries he allegedly sustained while attempting to rob Singh’s store.

Daivon K. Brinson surrendered to Union County homicide investigators this week in connection with the death last week of Mohinder Singh, the manager of the 3 Stooges Supermarket in Union Township.
The prosecutor’s office, which led the investigation, would not release further details about the nature of Brinson’s injuries or the murder weapon.

The deli had no security cameras, and there were no witnesses. DNA evidence had been collected at the scene, but results have not yet come back, according to police officials.
Union Township police director Dan Zieser credited the arrest to boots-on-the-ground police work.

“It started off from an unrelated street arrest,” said Zieser. A man arrested for strong-armed robbery the Friday after Singh’s death “had street knowledge” that helped the prosecutor’s office narrow their investigation, according to Zieser. “It was a great move,” he said.

Singh’s family members were still processing word of the arrest today.

“We just found out the news,” said Singh’s brother-in-law, Makhen Singh of Queens, N.Y when reached on his cell phone. “We have to think about what we have to do.”

Mohinder Singh, 41, had moved from Haryana, India to New York nearly six years ago, leaving behind his family.

His brother-in-law found him a job at a gas station in Union Township, and he moved into an apartment in the township’s Vauxhall section. Soon after, family members bought the Springfield Avenue deli that Singh spent most of his time managing, his brother-in-law said.

Singh worked more than 80 hours a week at the Springfield Avenue deli. On Nov. 30, he was working alone, as he often did, when police say Brinson attempted to rob him. Singh apparently struggled with Brinson, injuring the 20-year-old, who police said left a trail of blood while fleeing through the store’s back door.

Brinson has been charged with murder, robbery and weapons offenses. He is being held at the Union County jail in lieu of $750,000 bail.